Carbohydrates are polyhydroxy aldehyde or ketone compounds or substances that yield these compounds on hydrolysis. They frequently occur in nature as long chain polymers of simple sugars. As the term is used in the present invention it is intended to be inclusive of any monomeric, oligomeric, and polymeric carbohydrate compound which has a primary hydroxyl group available for reaction.
Cellulose is a carbohydrate consisting of a long chain of glucose units, all β-linked through the 1′–4 positions. Native plant cellulose molecules may have upwards of 2200 anhydroglucose units. The number of units is normally referred to as degree of polymerization or simply D.P. Some loss of D.P. inevitably occurs during purification. A D.P. approaching 2000 is usually found only in purified cotton linters. Wood derived celluloses rarely exceed a D.P. of about 1700. The structure of cellulose can be represented as follows:

Chemical derivatives of cellulose have been commercially important for almost a century and a half. Nitrocellulose plasticized with camphor was the first synthetic plastic and has been in use since 1868. A number of cellulose ether and ester derivatives are presently commercially available and find wide use in. many fields of commerce. Virtually all cellulose derivatives take advantage of the reactivity of the three available hydroxyl groups. Substitution at these groups can vary from very low; e.g. about 0.01 to a maximum 3.0. Among important cellulose derivatives are cellulose acetate, used in fibers and transparent films; nitrocellulose, widely used in lacquers and gun powder; ethyl cellulose, widely used in impact resistant tool handles; methyl cellulose, hydroxyethyl, hydroxypropyl, and sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, water soluble ethers widely used in detergents, as thickeners in foodstuffs, and in papermaking.
Cellulose itself has been modified for various purposes. Cellulose fibers are naturally anionic in nature as are many papermaking additives. A cationic cellulose is described in Harding et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,505,775. This has greater affinity for anionic papermaking additives such as fillers and pigments and is particularly receptive to acid and anionic dyes. Jewell et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 5,667,637, teach a low degree of substitution (D.S.) carboxyethyl cellulose which, along with a cationic resin, improves the wet to dry tensile and burst ratios when used as a papermaking additive. Westland, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,755,828 describes a method for increasing the strength of articles made from cross linked cellulose fibers having free carboxylic acid groups obtained by covalently coupling a polycarboxylic acid to the fibers.
For some purposes cellulose has been oxidized to make it more anionic; e.g., to improve compatibility with cationic papermaking additives and dyes. Various oxidation treatments have been used. U.S. Pat. No. 3,575,177 to Briskin et al. describes a cellulose oxidized with nitrogen dioxide useful as a tobacco substitute. The oxidized material may then be treated with a borohydride to reduce functional groups, such as aldehydes, causing off flavors. After this reduction the product may be further treated with an oxidizing agent such as hydrogen peroxide for further flavor improvement. Other oxidation treatments use nitrogen dioxide and periodate oxidation coupled with resin treatment of cotton fabrics for improvement in crease recovery as suggested by R. T. Shet and A. M. Yabani, Textile Research Journal November 1981: 740–744. Earlier work by K. V. Datye and G. M. Nabar, Textile Research Journal, July 1963: 500–510, describes oxidation by metaperiodates and dichromic acid followed by treatment with chlorous acid for 72 hours or 0.05 M sodium borohydride for 24 hours. Copper number was greatly reduced by borohydride treatment and less so by chlorous acid. Carboxyl content was slightly reduced by borohydride and significantly increased by chlorous acid. The products were subsequently reacted with formaldehyde. P. Luner et al., Tappi 50(3): 117–120 (1967) oxidized southern pine kraft spring wood and summer wood fibers with potassium dichromate in oxalic acid. Handsheets made with the fibers showed improved wet strength believed due to aldehyde groups. P. Luner et al., in Tappi 50(5): 227–230 (1967) expanded this earlier work and further oxidized some of the pulps with chlorite or reduced them with sodium borohydride. Handsheets from the pulps treated with the reducing agent showed improved sheet properties over those not so treated. R. A. Young, Wood and Fiber, 10(2): 112–119 (1978) describes oxidation primarily by dichromate in oxalic acid to introduce aldehyde groups in sulfite pulps for wet strength improvement in papers.
Brasey et al, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,100,341, describe oxidation of cellulose with nitric acid. They note that the reaction was specific at the C6 position and that secondary oxidation at the C2 and C3 positions was not detected. They further note that the product was “ . . . stable without the need for subsequent reduction steps or the introduction of further reactants [e.g., aldehyde groups] from which the oxidized cellulose has to be purged”.
V. A. Shenai and A. S. Narkhede, Textile Dyer and Printer May 20, 1987: 17–22 describe the accelerated reaction of hypochlorite oxidation of cotton yarns in the presence of physically deposited cobalt sulfide. The authors note that partial oxidation has been studied for the past hundred years in conjunction with efforts to prevent degradation during bleaching. They also discuss in some detail the use of 0.1 M sodium borohydride as a reducing agent following oxidation. The treatment was described as a useful method of characterizing the types of reducing groups as well as acidic groups formed during oxidation. The borohydride treatment noticeably reduced copper number of the oxidized cellulose. Copper number gives an estimate of the reducing groups such as aldehydes present on the cellulose. Borohydride treatment also reduced alkali solubility of the oxidized product but this may have been related to an approximate 40% reduction in carboxyl content of the samples.
R. Andersson et al. in Carbohydrate Research 206: 340–346 (1990) teach oxidation of cellulose with sodium nitrite in orthophosphoric acid and describe nuclear magnetic resonance elucidation of the reaction products.
An article by P. L. Anelli et al. in Journal of Organic Chemistry 54: 2970–2972 (1989) appears to be one of the earlier papers describing oxidation of hydroxyl compounds by oxammonium salts. They employed a system of 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-piperidinyloxy free radical (TEMPO) with sodium hypochlorite and sodium bromide in a two phase system to oxidize 1,4-butanediol and 1,5-pentanediol.
R. V. Casciani et al, in French Patent 2,674,528 (1992) describe the use of sterically hindered N-oxides for oxidation of polymeric substances, among them alkyl polyglucosides having primary hydroxyl groups. A preferred oxidant was TEMPO although many related nitroxides were suggested. Calcium hypochlorite was present as a secondary oxidant.
N. J. Davis and S. L. Flitsch, Tetrahedron Letters 34(7): 1181–1184 (1993) describe the use and reaction mechanism of (TEMPO) with sodium hypochlorite to achieve selective oxidation of primary hydroxyl groups of monosaccharides. Following the Davis et al. paper this route to carboxylation then began to be very actively explored, particularly in the Netherlands and later in the United States. A. E. J. de Nooy et al., in a short paper in Receuil des Travaux Chimiques des Pays-Bas 113: 165–166 (1994), report similar results using TEMPO and hypobromite for oxidation of primary alcohol groups in potato starch and inulin. The following year, these same authors in Carbohydrate Research 269: 89–98 (1995) report highly selective oxidation of primary alcohol groups in water soluble glucans using TEMPO and a hypochlorite/bromide oxidant.
European Patent Application 574,666 to Kaufhold et al. describes a group of nitroxyl compounds based on TEMPO substituted at the 4-position. These are useful as oxidation catalysts using a two phase system. Formation of carboxylated cellulose did not appear to be contemplated.
PCT published patent application WO 95/07303 (Besemer et al.) describes a method of oxidizing water soluble carbohydrates having a primary alcohol group, using TEMPO, or a related di-tertiary-alkyl nitroxide, with sodium hypochlorite and sodium bromide. Cellulose is mentioned in passing in the background although the examples are principally limited to starches. The method is said to selectively oxidize the primary alcohol at C-6 to carboxyl. None of the products studied were fibrous in nature.
A year following the above noted Besemer PCT publication, the same authors, in Cellulose Derivatives, T. J. Heinze and W. G. Glasser, eds., Ch. 5, pp 73–82 (1996), describe methods for selective oxidation of cellulose to 2,3-dicarboxy cellulose and 6-carboxy cellulose using various oxidants. Among the oxidants used were a periodate/chlorite/hydrogen peroxide system, oxidation in phosphoric acid with sodium. nitrate/nitrite, and with TEMPO and a hypochlorite/bromide primary oxidant. Results with the TEMPO system were poorly reproduced and equivocal. The statement that “ . . . some of the material remains undissolved” was puzzling. In the case of TEMPO oxidation of cellulose, little or none would have been expected to go into water solution unless the cellulose was either badly degraded and/or the carboxyl substitution was very high. The homogeneous solution of cellulose in phosphoric acid used for the sodium nitrate/sodium nitrite oxidation was later treated with sodium borohydride to remove any carbonyl function present.
De Nooy et al. have published a very extensive review, both of the literature and the chemistry of nitroxyls as oxidizers of primary and secondary alcohols, in Synthesis: Journal of Synthetic Organic Chemistry (10): 1153–1174 (1996).
Heeres et al., in PCT application WO 96/38484, discuss oxidation of carbohydrate ethers useful as sequestering agents. They use the TEMPO oxidation system described by the authors just noted above to produce relatively highly substituted products, including cellulose.
P.-S. Chang and J. F. Robyt, Journal of Carbohydrate Chemistry 15(7): 819–830 (1996), describe oxidation of ten polysaccharides including α-cellulose at 0° C. and 25° C. using TEMPO with sodium hypochlorite and sodium bromide. Ethanol addition was used to quench the oxidation reaction. The resulting oxidized α-cellulose had a water solubility of 9.4%. The authors did not further describe the nature of the α-cellulose. It is presumed to have been a so-called dissolving pulp or cotton linter cellulose.
Heeres et al., in WO 96/36621, describe a method of recovering TEMPO and its related compounds following their use as an oxidation catalyst. An example is given of the oxidation of starch followed by TEMPO recovery using azeotropic distillation.
D. Barzyk et al., in Journal of pulp and paper Science 23(2): J59–J61 (1997) and in Transactions of the 11th Fundamental Research Symposium, Vol. 2, 893–907 (1997), note that carboxyl groups on cellulose fibers increase swelling and impact flexibility, bonded area and strength. They designed experiments to increase surface carboxylation of fibers. However, they ruled out oxidation to avoid fiber degradation and chose to form carboxymethyl cellulose in an isopropanol/methanol system.
Isogai, A. and Y. Kato, in Cellulose 5: 153–164 (1998) describe treatment of several native, mercerized, and regenerated celluloses with TEMPO to obtain water soluble and insoluble polyglucuronic acids. They note that the water soluble products had almost 100% carboxyl substitution at the C-6 site. They further note that oxidation proceeds heterogeneously at the more accessible regions on solid cellulose.
Isogai, in Cellulose Communications 5(3): 136–141 (1998) describes preparation of water soluble oxidized cellulose products using mercerized or regenerated celluloses as starting materials in a TEMPO oxidation system. Using native celluloses or bleached wood pulp he was unable to obtain a water soluble material since he achieved only low amounts of conversion. He further notes the beneficial properties of the latter materials as papermaking additives.
Kitaoka et al., in a preprint of a short 1998 paper for Sen'i Gakukai (Society of Studies of Fiber) speak of their work in the surface modification of fibers using a TEMPO mediated oxidation system. They were concerned with the receptivity of alum-based sizing compounds.
PCT application WO 99/23117 (Viikari et al.) teaches oxidation using TEMPO in combination with the enzyme laccase or other enzymes along with air or oxygen as the effective oxidizing agents of cellulose fibers, including kraft pine pulps.
Kitaoka, T., A., A. Isogai, and F. Onabe, in Nordic Pulp and Paper Research Journal, 14(4): 279–284 (1999), describe the treatment of bleached hardwood kraft pulp using TEMPO oxidation. Increasing amounts of carboxyl content gave some improvement in dry tensile index, Young's modulus and brightness, with decreases in elongation at breaking point and opacity. Other strength properties were unaffected. Retention of PAE-type wet strength resins was somewhat increased. The products described did not have any stabilization treatment after the TEMPO oxidation.
Van der Lugt et al., in WO 99/57158, describe the use of peracids in the presence of TEMPO or another di-tertiary alkyl nitroxyl for oxidation of primary alcohols in carbohydrates. They claim their process to be useful for producing uronic acids and for introducing aldehyde groups which are suitable for crosslinking and derivitization. Among their examples are a series of oxidations of starch at pH ranges from 5–10 using a system including TEMPO, sodium bromide, EDTA, and peracetic acid. Carboxyl substitution was relatively high in all cases, ranging from 26–91% depending on reaction pH.
Besemer et al. in PCT published application WO 00/50388 teach oxidation of various carbohydrate materials in which the primary hydroxyls are converted to aldehyde groups. The system uses TEMPO or related nitroxyl compounds in the presence of a transition metal using oxygen or hydrogen peroxide.
Jaschinski et al. In PCT published application WO 00/50462 teach oxidation of TEMPO oxidized bleached wood pulps to introduce carboxyl and aldehyde groups at the C6 position. The pulp is preferably refined before oxidation. One process variation uses low pH reaction conditions without a halogen compound present. The TEMPO is regenerated by ozone or another oxidizer, preferably in a separate step. In particular, the outer surface of the fibers are said to be modified. The products were found to be useful for papermaking applications.
Jetten et al. in related PCT applications WO 00/50463 and WO 00/50621 teach TEMPO oxidation of cellulose along with an enzyme or complexes of a transition metal. A preferred complexing agent is a polyamine with at least three amino groups separated by two or more carbon atoms. Manganese, iron, cobalt, and copper are preferred transition metals. Although aldehyde substitution at C6 seems to be preferred, the primary products can be further oxidized to carboxyl groups by oxidizers such as chlorites or hydrogen peroxide.
TEMPO catalyzed oxidation of primary alcohols of various organic compounds is reported in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,031,101 to Devine et al. and 6,127,573 to Li et al. The oxidation system is a buffered two phase system employing TEMPO, sodium chlorite, and sodium hypochlorite. The above investigators are joined by others in a corresponding paper to Zhao et al. Journal of Organic Chemistry 64: 2564–2566 (1999). Similarly, Einhorn et al., Journal of Organic Chemistry 61: 7452–7454 (1996) describe TEMPO used with N-chlorosuccinimide in a two phase system for oxidation of primary alcohols to aldehydes.
I. M. Ganiev et al in Journal of Physical Organic Chemistry 14: 38–42 (2001) describe a complex of chlorine dioxide with TEMPO and its conversion into oxammonium salt. Specific applications of the synthesis product were not noted.
Isogai, in Japanese Kokai 2001-4959A, describes treating cellulose fiber using a TEMPO/hypochlorite oxidation system to achieve low levels of surface carboxyl substitution. The treated fiber has good additive retention properties without loss of strength when used in papermaking applications.
Published European Patent Applications 1,077,221; 1,077,285; and 1,077,286 to Cimecloglu et al. respectively describe a polysaccharide paper strength additive, a paper product, and a modified cellulose pulp in which aldehyde substitution has been introduced using a TEMPO/hypochlorite system.
Published PCT application WO 01/29309 to Jewell et al. describes a cellulose fiber carboxylated using TEMPO or its related compounds which is stabilized against color or D.P. degradation by the use of a reducing or additional oxidizing step to eliminate aldehyde or ketone substitution introduced during the primary oxidation.
None of the previous workers have described a stable fibrous carboxylated cellulose or related carbohydrate material that can be made and used in conventional papermill equipment, using environmentally friendly chemicals, with no requirement for hypochlorites.